Falling
by fangsallmine1123
Summary: Max has fallen many times in the past. But not like this. Never like this. Fax. Post-TFW. For Hatethesilence312. [Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. All rights reserved to James Patterson. No infringement or copyright intended.]


**Falling**

**Summary: Max has fallen many times in the past. But not like this. Never like this. Fax. Post-TFW.**

When Max was six years old in the School, she fell a million times trying to fly.

When she was ten, living in the E house, she fell off the rope swing Jeb hung for them in the backyard.

When Max was twelve, she fell out of a tree after climbing to see if she could spot the others during a game of hide and seek.

When she was thirteen, Fang and Max were messing around and she fell off the cliff of the canyons around the house.

When she was fourteen, she fell out of the sky due to her very first brain attack.

Max could honestly say she'd never fallen like this.

It all began when Max's mother talked them into taking a break from being wandering vagrants. The kids were desperate for a vacation, and Fang said it was a good idea for them all to drop off the radar for a while and lay low. Max, of course, just wanted to get her dang mission out of the way.

But they out numbered her, and she knew if she just put her foot down and ordered them to bend to her will, they'd be cranky little buttheads.

So, she only had one rule before they joined her mom and Ella for a few weeks: Absolutely, positively, _no _school.

But that didn't stop Ella from having parties.

Max sat on the couch, her legs drawn to her chest. Ella had invited, like, a hundred people to the house for her birthday, so Max and the others were stuck playing normal for the night. Boy and girls filled every nook and cranny of the house and Max was about to rip her hair out.

Even worse, Ella's friend Stacy had pulled a group of boys and girls into the living room to play spin the bottle or seven minutes in heaven or something else that teenagers always played.

Fang was one of the boys.

Max sat on the sofa, curled up and closed off, her head resting on her knees. She'd borrowed Ella's iPod, and its earbuds were tucked in her ears, blocking out some, but not all, of the noise.

The music was loud, but not loud enough for her to miss a girl say, "It's your turn, Nick."

Max took a deep breath. She didn't care. She didn't.

Okay, she did, whatever.

She was going to _pretend _she didn't.

Why was he playing anyways? It's not like Fang, you know, _wanted _to or anything. He couldn't. Why would he want to? Did he seriously want to just kiss random girls? Was he that low?

Oh, please. Of _course _he was that low. He was a boy, for God's sake.

A boy that Max felt like she barely knew anymore.

Ever since Fang and the boys had reunited with them, Max hadn't felt quite the same around him. Their separation had been tough, yeah, but it was something else, too. Just…Fang kept kissing her and making her uncomfortable, and then throwing himself at other girls…

It was totally ridiculous.

"Oooh," someone cooed obnoxiously. Max swallowed, closing her eyes as she pressed her forehead harder into her knees, trying to get rid of her headache. "That _totally _landed on Kristen."

"No way! It's pointing directly at Cara!"

Bickering erupted in the game a few feet in front of her and Max started counting backwards by 100.

100, 99, 98, 97-

"Guys," a voice said.

- 94, 93, 92, 91-

"Guys!"

-87, 86, 85, 84-

"Hey!" Ella shouted. Everyone stopped talking. "It's pointing at Max."

-82- Wait, _what_?

Please oh please don't drag her into this game…

Especially not now, not as Fang's…partner.

Max gagged.

"Max," Ella sang. Max could hear the smirk in her voice. She lifted my head, reluctantly tugging one of the headphones out of her ear. Yup, there her half-sister was, smirking at her knowingly.

"Yeah?" Max said.

Ella looked down pointedly at the bottle that was - unfortunately- beckoning to her between the two girls' shoulders - the girls she presumed to be Cara and Kristen.

"I'm not playing," Max declared.

"Yeah, you are," Ella said.

"I'm not sitting in the circle," Max pointed out.

"Max," Ella said. "It landed on you."

Fang stood up. Oh, God, if he tried to kiss her right now in front of all these people, she'd probably-

He turned away from her.

Walked over to the wall.

And opened the coat closet.

Nu-huh.

Max shook her head firmly.

"Max! You're breaking the rules!" Ella cried.

"I'm _not _playing," she insisted.

"I'll take her spot," one of the other girls shamelessly offered. Max glared. That was the last straw. She chewed on her lip.

Max glanced at Fang, who was grinning cheekily at her. She angrily shoved off of the couch and stomped over to the closet. Fang held the door open for her.

"This isn't a five star restaurant," she snarled, shoving him in first. Then she slammed the door shut behind them, and they were plunged into darkness.

"I hate you so much."

He chuckled.

She refused to touch him. They were currently pressed together, so she backed up until her back thumped against the wall.

"Calm down," Fang breathed. "It's just me."

Oh, what was _this_? Why was he breathing down her neck? God.

It was just Fang. She'd been this close to Fang before. A hundred times. So why was it a big deal now? Because he'd kissed her multiple times in the past? Because they were locked in a closet? Because…because he was moving closer?

"Just…stop," she said quietly.

Her eyes had adjusted to the light and now she could see him dimly.

"Tell me," Fang said lowly in her ear. "Did you decide to come in here because you wanted to? Or because you didn't want _Stacy _to?"

"I don't think it's important that I answer that question," Max said.

"I think it's important."

"Nope," she said, putting her hands on his chest. Not because she wanted to touch his chest, but because he was getting really close - too close. Yeah, nothing to do with the fact that he was freaking _chiseled _under his black shirt. "Fang, you're kind of…pinning me to the wall. Mind letting up?"

"I think this game requires us to be _much _closer," he murmured.

"I don't think so," Max mumbled.

"My bad," Fang replied sarcastically, but his voice was soft. "First time playing."

"You don't say?" she breathed back.

_He's just your friend, Max. Your best friend. Nothing else. Just your friend. _

"Max," he whispered, brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear only for it to fall forward again. "I want to kiss you."

Whoa, Nelly. Maybe he wasn't just her friend.

She stared up with wide eyes. "You _do_?" she asked incredulously, then mentally kicked herself for sounding so…interested.

Fang tilted his head down to face her. They were less than a centimeter apart. Oh, hell…

"Yeah," he said lightheartedly.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Uh…"

"Would you be okay with that, Max? If I kissed you?"

Her heart was going crazy in her chest. She wiped her hands on her jeans, trying not to overreact. This was what she wanted, right? _Right_?

"I…"

Fang seemed to be moving in for the kill anyways, despite what her answer would've been. Which, Max had to admit, probably would've been, _Go for it, bucko. I'm all yours. _

She couldn't deny it. Now that it was seconds from happening, it was all she wanted. All the tension that had been growing between them, since they split up the flock, since they came home from Antarctica…Max felt that a kiss might be exactly what they needed.

This time, she wouldn't push him away and run.

She'd just let herself fall.

Max has fallen many times in the past. But not like this. Never like this.

Nine out of ten times, when she fell, she caught herself. But now, Max decided to be brave.

She decided to let Fang catch her this time. She knew he would. He would.

Fang's mouth was really close to hers now. Like, extremely close. Max could feel his hot breath on her lips, which were slightly parted in anticipation for what was to happen next. It was terrifying, that moment right before the kiss. Right before the fall. Max wrapped her arms around his neck tentatively, and that just gave him the sign to continue that he'd been waiting for.

Just as he ducked his head to finally, finally, _finally _kiss her…

"Time's up!" The door was yanked open.

"_Jesus Christ_," Fang breathed in frustration, pulling back. Max stared up at him in shock.

No.

Not _now_.

Not now that she'd finally gotten up the courage to kiss him and let herself give into him - NO.

She was going to get her seven minutes in heaven, even if it _killed_ her.

Max reached behind Fang, grabbed the closet doorknob from Stacy, and slammed it closed, submerging them in darkness once more.

Then she yanked Fang down, twisting her fingers in his hair, and she kissed him like there was no tomorrow.

Max has fallen many times in the past.

But none of those times were ever as exhilarating as _this _time.

**A/N: I wrote this on a whim. Yeah. I read through it, tweaked it, changed it's POV a few times…and I think it's cute. I don't think it was too sappy or anything…so yep. Cool.**

**Review! Tell me what you thought. And if you have any requests, I'm your gal. **

**fangsallmine1123**


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